Queuer

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkjuːə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A person standing in a lineup for a service or product is often known by this term
2. This term refers to an individual waiting in an organized line, typically in anticipation of receiving something
3. An individual who joins and remains in a line to await their turn for something

Etymology: "Queuer" is about as plain as English etymology gets: it is the noun "queue" with the agentive suffix "-er" attached, meaning a person who queues. The suffix "-er" has been used since Old English to form nouns for people or things that perform an action, as in "baker" or "singer", so "queuer" simply names someone doing the queuing. The base word has the more surprising history. "Queue" came into English from French, where it meant "tail", and it still carries that sense in its original form: a queue was a pigtail or a tail of hair worn at the back of the head, and the word's link to a line of people came later, when the image of a file of people trailing one behind another took hold. The "-er" ending was then added to it, following the same pattern as many other agent nouns in English.

Synonyms: line holder, waiter